muhammad ali
Charismatic, outspoken and nicknamed “The Greatest,” heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was the dominant heavyweight fighter of the 1960s and 1970s. [1]
Once one of the top American boxers, Muhammad Ali has shown that he is not afraid of any fight-inside or outside the ring. [2]
Muhammad Ali beat more champions and top contenders than any heavyweight champion in history. [3]
After defending successfully against Liston and former champion Floyd Patterson, he joined the black nationalist Nation of Islam, changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and refused to fight in the War in Vietnam. [4]
Ali started working with Martin to learn how to box, and soon began his boxing career. [2]
Following his bout with Moore, Ali won a disputed 10-round decision over Doug Jones in a matchup that was named “Fight of the Year” for 1963. [5]
He was not imprisoned, but did not fight again for nearly four years while his appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was successful. [6]
“Well, you better learn how to fight before you start challenging people,” Martin reportedly told him at the time. [2]
After a meteoric and flamboyant rise through the ranks Ali, still fighting as Cassius Clay, won the title against Sonny Liston in 1964 in a major upset. [4]
He took out British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper in 1963 and then knocked out Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the heavyweight champion of the world. [2]
He is considered one of the world’s greatest heavyweight boxers, as well as one of the world’s most famous individuals, renowned the world over both for his boxing and his political activism. [4]
He was born Cassius Clay, and under that name he won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. [1]
To date, he remains the only man to have won the linear heavyweight championship three times (the linear title is recognized by tracing an - almost - unbroken lineage of titleholders going back over 100 years, with nearly every champion defeating the previous titleholder in the ring). [...] Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942) is a retired American boxer and former three-time World Heavyweight Champion. [5]
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is a former American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers. [6]
Sources:
[1] Muhammad Ali: Biography from Answers.com
[2] Muhammad Ali Biography - Biography.com
[3] Muhammad Ali - IMDb
[4] Muhammad Ali - New World Encyclopedia
[5] Muhammad Ali
[6] Muhammad Ali - Wikipedia